Friday, November 27, 2015

I was going to put up a picture of a murdered Christian woman in Syria, impaled by a cross, but it's just too horrible an image to use to make a point; That point being we're concerned about words that hurt, or being perceived as xenophobic. While they bury those murdered by terrorists in Paris, Obama wants to accelerate closing Guantanamo Bay, he's worried about legal rights. To paraphrase a movie, Obama wants to bring a knife to a gunfight.

As details emerge about the police shooting in Chicago, apparently his inspirational speeches about Hope and Change hasn't translated into changing any facts on the ground, even in his home town, with his former presidential aide as mayor.

The press is appalled, because they think that Trump may have mocked a reporter with a disability. I'm worried by journalists being beheaded for trying to report the news, not Trump being politically incorrect.

I can't say that I'm surprised that hope alone doesn't do anything. I think, to the chagrin of my liberal associates, if the election was held tomorrow, ............

Thursday, September 17, 2015

As a conservative independent, I have no use for Hillary Clinton, and less for Bernie Sanders. Even though I'll be late opening the bakery this morning, I stayed up last night and watched the debate. I was actually more impressed with the undercard. Sans Santorum, Pataki, Jindal and Graham were compelling. But, as Marshall McLuhan said, the medium is the message, and those gentlemen, relegated to the second tier in the second debate, are no longer part of the medium.

On the main card, the overly crowded field was almost like cage wrestling, too many people vying for camera time. In that regard, I felt that CNN had the camera on Trump a disportioncate amount of time. For foreign policy geeks, hearing that Trump will surround himself with experts, as opposed to being one, must be excruciatingly painful. I believe that if Marco Rubio could make himself appear older, he would be a real contender. I might send him some of my gray hair dye, it has helped me looked more distinguished. Getting back to McLuhan, Trump may have again stole the show by default. Although Jeb Bush was more aggressive, he only managed to play into Trump's portrayal of him as unenergetic. In that regard, Ben Carson appears to be self medicated. The other doctor, Rand Paul, also cannot shed the Trump barbs. Huckabee has cast himself more as a pastor than a viable politician. Both the governors, Walker and Kasich, failed to stand out. Ted Cruz presented himself well, but the media has marginalized him as too right for America. Although Christie held his own, he still looks like he caused that traffic jam at the bridge, trying to get to the donut shop before it closed. Certainly, Carly Fiorina also held her own, but I don't think that she has enough spunk to break through this large men's field.

I'm back to Marshall McLuhan and the persuasive media. If Trump produces some commercials which succeed in adding some world expertise to augment his bravado, the White House might become the next reality show.

Friday, August 7, 2015

I thought that Marco Rubio did very well last night, but he looks so young. He should dye his hair gray like I do, to look older (I do it to look more distinguished). Trump, of course. could also use some hair advise. I thought it was unfair of Fox News to not let Huckabee hold his guitar. Maybe some of them should have been able to hold a rifle. Bush, they should have butched up with some dried blood, a scar and maybe a bandage over his knuckles. Christie should have worn a white Colonel Sanders Suit, and went with a Boss Hogg approach. Carson needs some anger in his voice, or maybe a prescription induced twitch. The others blended into the stage curtain.

ADDENDUM: A couple of weeks ago, I thought that Hillary was a shoo-in. The Democrats, because of so many Republican candidates, were talking about the clown car. I have since changed my mind. Even MSNBC could talk about nothing this morning but the Republican debate. The large field will dominate the news for many months to come, and that is the name of the game.

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

A segment of this country, and Obama's White House, have been apologizing for the urban thug, riot after riot. After the riots in Ferguson, these apologists blamed the lack of diversity. Time after time, Obama's Justice Department indicted and investigated the police, resulting in a self-imposed restraint. Yesterday, as tension grew in Baltimore, this police restraint had consequences, Baltimore was torched and looted. This resulted not from a lack of justice or diversity in Baltimore, but from a political climate which wants to excuse every urban thug, as being oppressed and lacking in opportunity. Besides those excuses being delusional, they haven't diminished the looting in fifty years.

Monday, April 27, 2015

Obama gave a very good performance at the Correspondents Dinner, he did everything but sing and dance. Of course it was an audience that loves him, the press. The ultra liberal Huffington reported each separate quip in a separate article. The left gushed that he bashed the entire Republican field. What a performance, but, unfortunately, he's President. In that role, objectively, things aren't going so well. We now have a Middle East policy that's only reactive at best. While terrorism is becoming more and more widespread, he still wants to close Guantanamo Bay, and afford our enemies an OJ defense in NYC. While he himself now calls The Affordable Care Act Obama-Care, and considers it his legacy, doctors are retiring in record numbers, because of the paperwork and reduced compensation. His support is based on personality, not on performance; That is his true legacy.

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Netanyahu's speech to Congress, scheduled for early March, has become a point of multiple controversy. Did Boehner invite Netanyahu as a partisan to embarrass Obama? Did Netanyahu accept for political purpose back in Israel? Is the invitation and speech so diplomatically uncomfortable as to constitute disrespect to United States? One thing for sure is that there is much more consequence for Israel than United States with any nuclear deal made with Iran. As the United States becomes involved in the ever changing dynamics of the Middle East conflicts, it is Israel which is in the cross-hair of Iranian produced missiles, not America. According to Netanyahu, “Iran continues to forge ahead through the rubble of the new Middle East; it has already taken over four capitals, Damascus, Beirut, Baghdad and now Sana’a. Now it wants to open a third front from the Golan Heights.” Netanyahu said that if that was the way Iran acted without nuclear arms, “Imagine what it will do when it has nuclear weapons.”

Under the dire circumstances facing Israel, I do not find Netanyahu's speech either political or undiplomatic. However, I believe that those terms apply to our Congress members who choose not to attend.

Thursday, January 15, 2015

Moshe Dayan on born on a kibbutz near the Sea of Galilee in 1915. When he was 14, he joined the outlawed Haganah, an underground defense force to protect Jewish settlements from Arab attacks. Although caught and imprisoned by the British for two years, he would fight for them in Lebanon during WWII, losing his eye. In the 1948 War of Independence, he fought on all the fronts, defending Israel; by 1953 he was Chief of Staff of the Israeli Armed Forces. In 1956 he led the Suez Campaign.
In 1967 he was Defense Minister for the Six Day War. He remained in that position through the War of 1973. Although a genuine hero in every sense of the word, he was held responsible for the initial success of Egyptian forces in the surprise attack on Yom Kippur (1973), and would resign from his position.

Israel is too small of a country, and it's enemies too numerous, for any miscalculations regarding it's security.